Pune: Marathi cinema has always given quality and innovative films to the nation. However, a sudden shift can be seen across the country where the audience for cinema is changing, and people have become more demanding than ever regarding the content they are watching. In this, every major industry, including Bollywood, is struggling to pull crowds into theatres.
Since the Covid crisis, after decades of treating films as entertainment, people have started making more deliberate choices regarding the content they consume. In this, Pune, which has always been a central force driving Marathi cinema’s hype, remains a focal point. But the question remains: do Punekars still watch Marathi films?
Punekars’ Special Love For Marathi Cinema
As always, Marathi cinema is providing quality content that earns critical praise. But historically and currently, barring some exceptions, Marathi cinema has always struggled to pull commercial hits, and due to this, its earnings take hits. It is always said by proud Marathi people that it was the legendary late filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke who brought cinema to India. However, beyond that, there is little to boast about.
Yet in Pune, a culturally rich city in the heart of Maharashtra, Marathi films still find an audience for the quality they provide. Most of the younger and older audiences across the state believe that Marathi films often fail to deliver on their promises. Their hype is never built, so people complain about not knowing which movies have been released or what to watch, or they simply state that the Marathi film industry lacks the star power to pull crowds into theatres.
But Punekars remain avid watchers of Marathi theatre and cinema. Pune has always provided a stage for Marathi filmmakers by giving them an audience. A recent example is the film Dashavatar, which is struggling to secure more than three to four shows per day in big cities of Maharashtra. Yet despite being in its second week, on average over eight shows are running daily across theatres in Pune.
Marathi Films: Recent Trends & Struggles
Marathi films operate on smaller budgets compared to Bollywood and South Indian industries. Limited dubbing and distribution across India also hampers their pan-Indian appeal. However, despite these limitations, Punekars never shy away from watching and supporting Marathi cinema. Reduced screen space, competition from other industries, lack of star power, production scale and budget limitations, theatre infrastructure gaps, and others remain key longstanding issues of the Marathi film industry.
However, after a period of drought pre-Covid, when it was seen that the Marathi industry had totally lost the young audience, since Covid its experimentation has led to gaining youngsters’ attention back. Be it films like Ved, Jhimma, Baipan Bhari Deva, Aatmapamphlet, Jarann, Vaalvi, Ata Thambaycha Nahi, and recently three films released in one week -- Dashavatar, Aarpaar, and Bin Lagnachi Gosht. These movies, although having smaller earnings compared to Bollywood, have been watched by a variety of audiences. Along with pulling crowds at the box office, a majority of Marathi films are also gaining attention on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others, which are buying the streaming rights due to the strong content they provide.
Highest-Grossing Marathi Films Since Covid:
- 2021: Jhimma grossed approximately Rs 15.7 crore worldwide.
- 2022: Ved collected approximately Rs 75 crore worldwide (Pawankhind was second with over Rs 70 crore reported).
- 2023: Baipan Bhari Deva collected over Rs 92 crore worldwide (second highest-grossing Marathi film after Sairat, which collected Rs 110 crore worldwide).
- 2024: Nach Ga Ghuma was the highest-grossing film, with Rs 27 crore collected worldwide.
- 2025: Dashavatar has managed to hit the Rs 10 crore mark in its first week, while it continues to earn more. Jarann, released in June, managed to collect approximately Rs 9 crore worldwide.
Mother Tongue, Relatable Humour & Experimentation Drive Punekars To Watch Marathi Cinema
When The Free Press Journal spoke to a variety of audiences, especially young people across the district, we found that people still watch Marathi films -- although content quality matters. Punekars are choosy about the content they watch, but when offered quality, they never shy away from supporting it.
Dnyanal Sankpal (21, Talegaon Dabhade) said, "I watch Marathi movies because they have good content. The stories carry social messages, and they touch hearts when we see them on screen. Many of the movies I have watched are relatable. They also have a well-deserved strong reputation for creative storytelling, in my opinion."
Mahesh Bathe Patil (25, Katraj), who works as a corporate employee and is pursuing his PhD, said he likes to watch Marathi films to escape his busy day-to-day life, and it’s easy to watch and understand them since Marathi is his mother tongue. "Acting is exceptional, and scripts are impactful and novel, making me choose the Marathi industry over others. I feel Marathi cinema is way ahead of movies from other languages of India. The social and emotional depth of Marathi cinema is unmatched," he said.
Pranoti Shrikhande (21, SB Road), who is currently working in the media industry, said Marathi films are fun to watch. She said, "Marathi being my mother tongue, their humour always works for me. The jokes are on point, and so are the movies and their content. The content the Marathi industry provides keeps me engaged compared to other industries, though I watch films made in other languages too."
Suresh Athanikar (42, Raviwar Peth) said, "I have been both a massy and classy audience. Marathi films do well with the classy bit but fail massively when it comes to mass. Barring a few exceptions in previous films, I am not a regular watcher. The Marathi films don’t move me. However, they can if they change their strategy. I enjoy Hollywood and South Indian regional cinema more than Bollywood and the Marathi industry."
'Marathi Cinema Has the Capacity, but Does It Have the Willingness?'
Pune-based filmmaker Nihar Sapre, who has over 12 years of experience making films, said that Marathi films definitely have the capacity to make engaging cinema but raised the question of whether they have the willingness. "A common mistake I have found in Marathi filmmakers is that they always try to give a social message to society, which is absolutely not needed. Any cinema has the capacity to engage audiences as it is an audio-visual format of storytelling. However, the films we see desperately try to win hearts through dialogues and music but fail to get their visuals right."
He further said that Maharashtra has a really great culture that can be accommodated in films, but the industry controllers lack the foresight to make an appealing visual product that will work internationally. "Many times, the industry controllers I have seen have their own agenda, which doesn’t match the filmmakers’ vision. However, due to budget and financial concerns, they have to be kept happy. The day Marathi cinema stops doing this, it will be widely popular."
Sapre, who also works as a visiting faculty at a filmmaking institution in Pune, said that future filmmakers should find universal emotions and make films according to them. "A mother’s love, son’s love, friendship, and others are universal emotions. We should stop being stubborn and adjust according to the international market. We should focus on visuals and make a compelling story with this greatest invention in entertainment," Sapre added. On an ending note, he said Marathi filmmakers can make the industry globally well-known if they are willing to adapt, because certainly the Marathi film industry has the capacity to be world famous.
